Laughter

For years, it has been acknowledged that "laughter is the best medicine".  The Bible recorded in Proverbs 15:13 - "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken". (KJV)

Laughter is free and anyone can produce it, anywhere and at anytime.

Cheerful people cope with illness better, said Carsten Niemitz, human biologist from Free University of Berlin.  Eckhart von Hirschhausen, a German comedian pointed out that laughter is a protective mechanism against mental illnesses.  Dr Amit Sood of Mayo Clinic in the US said, studies show all kinds of benefits from laughter - from better immunity and coping skills, lower stress, better relationships to improved digestion".

"When you laugh, you're joyful - you're living in the moment"

True happiness begins deep inside and emerges on our faces. So be happy and laugh !!!

Proverbs 17 : 22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Philippians 4 :4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Benefits of Laugher

All of us seek for happiness in our life. Other than love, the most powerful form of joy is laughter.
This hilarity is part of our body system but the sad part of it is that many of us are ignorant of it and instead we frown more than we laugh daily.

Often we hear people complaining of having worries, tensed muscles, void in their heart or having a heavy heart, angry, unhappy and other wellbeing issues not realising that a jolly good laugh can ease these problems.

Laughter is cheap and easily available within us and is a form of energy of which the more of it is spent the more of it remains.

We laugh or smile (smile is regarded as silent laughter) at some point of time in a day and often we find that it is not easy to pinpoint what exactly provoked the funny sensation but we feel good about it.

According to a medical research, which measured extensively the movements we make on our face and also our entire body when we smile and when we laugh is that all 600 muscles in our body play some form of "internal exercise" involving internal organs.

As laughing brings joyful experience to many people, Dr Madan Kataria, an Indian physician in Mumbai established the first laughter club in 1995.
Reader's Digest, a monthly publication magazine also have a section Laugh ! it's really the best medicine, because of the benefit of laughing.

According to Chan Yuen Li, a certified laughter therapy instructor, laughter therapy enhances ones emotional intelligence. Did you know that scientific studies show that children and babies can laugh up to 400 times a day ? And yet most adults laugh only four times a day ?

But the Bible written more than 2,000 year ago recorded cheerful heart [joyfulness] as a good medicine and to rejoice always.

Proverbs 17 : 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Philippians 4 :4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

{Extract from The Star Sunday Metro written by T Selva dated 3 August 2008}